W
W''' (ダブルユー, daburuyū) is a former Hello! Project duo comprised of fourth generation Morning Musume members, Kago Ai and Tsuji Nozomi. The group's name can also be read as '''Double U or Double You. The group formed in 2004 and remained active until 2006, releasing a total of two albums and six singles. W's Self-Introduction Occasionally, Tsuji and Kago would introduce themselves as a unit at live performances and concerts using these words; リーダーの辻希美と、サブリーダーの加護亜依、二人合わせて、ダブル・ユーでーす!! "Nozomi Tsuji, the leader, and Ai Kago, the sub leader -- putting the two of us together, we are W!" History 2004 W's formation was announced not long after the "graduation" of Kago and Tsuji from Morning Musume was announced in early 2004. At the time, the duo—longtime best friends since they met at the auditions that landed them in Morning Musume in 2000—were simultaneously in both Morning Musume and one of its most popular subgroups (or side projects), Mini Moni. Mini Moni was about to be disbanded with the inevitable departure of Mika Todd, leaving Kago and Tsuji without any associated acts with which to perform. The decision to pair the two best friends together in a new group was made almost immediately and W was born. As they were winding down their Mini Moni and Morning Musume duties, W released their debut three-song EP, "Koi no Vacance", the title track being a rocked-up cover version of a 1960's hit by Showa period female duo The Peanuts. The EP was followed a few weeks later by their debut album as W, "Duo U&U", which contained covers of other Showa period female duo songs exclusively. One of the other groups covered by W on the first album was Pink Lady, a 70's-era duo that was becoming active again as a performing (if not recording unit). Since Kago and Tsuji had done two Pink Lady songs ("Southpaw" and "Nagisa no Sinbad") on Duo U&U, Pink Lady were invited to perform with W on Japanese television as a one-time four-piece ensemble. Their joint performance of "Southpaw" became a trading favorite amongst American Hello! Project fans on VCD, DVD, and BitTorrent (Pink Lady also sat in with Kago, Tsuji, and their Morning Musume bandmates on "Nagisa no Sinbad" and a medley of the former act's "S.O.S." and the latter's "Love Machine" on the same show). Kago and Tsuji performed their graduation concert in August 2004; a week later, their second single "Aa Ii na!" was released. Not only was it the duo's first release since they departed Morning Musume, it was also the first W single to feature an original composition by Hello! Project founder/producer/songwriter Tsunku. A third single of original material, "Robo Kiss", followed three months later. In December 2004, W joined their fellow Hello! Project members on the 2004 shuffle unit single "All for One & One for All", credited to the H.P. All Stars. W also began joining Morning Musume onstage at concerts during this period to perform Kago and Tsuji's final Morning Musume single, "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari" together with their former bandmates. These appearances served to dispel unsubstantiated Internet rumors that Kago and Tsuji's departure from the band was due to personal differences. 2005 Their second album, 2005's "2nd W", released not even ten months after their first album, contained an even balance of new W originals and more Showa period classic J-pop cover songs, many of them topically centering around the end of the duo's teenage years (Kago turned 17 a month before the album's release; Tsuji would turn 18 that June). Their prolific pace continued when a new non-LP single, the Devo-influenced "Ai no Imi wo Oshiete!" (Teach Me the Meaning of Love), followed a few months afterwards. In the Spring of 2005, W starred in their first concert musical, Cara & Mel, the Case of the Stolen Dangerous Violin, a stage show which was afterwards released on DVD. In September 2005 the duo released their 6th single "Miss Love Tantei". The song and video feature a more mature Kago and Tsuji and actually earned them not only critical acclaim, but also some comparisons to Russian pop group t.A.T.u. because of the song intro's unintentional resemblance to "Not Gonna Get Us". The video, which features Kago and Tsuji playing multiple roles (including a reprisal of their stage musical roles of Cara & Mei), raised even more eyebrows when the duo were depicted adopting the controversial ganguro look in one scene. In addition to their musical career, W continue to appear on Hello! Project's weekly TV show Hello! Morning, often in tandem with Morning Musume. In videos and in concert appearances, W sometimes perform or co-headline with Berryz Koubou, the eight-member pre-teen girl group formed under Hello! Project. Berryz Kobo have appeared as dancers on W's "Aa Ii na!" and "Robo Kiss" videos. 2006 On January 11, 2006, the release of a new single, "Dou ni mo Tomaranai" on February 22, followed by their third full-length album, W3: Faithful on March 15, was announced. The title of both releases became known on February 7, 2006—coincidentally, Kago's 18th birthday. On February 9, 2006 it was confirmed that the magazine Friday (the same one that provoked Mari Yaguchi's sudden departure from Morning Musume) would be publishing photos of Kago caught smoking. The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20, and Kago had just turned 18 two days prior. On February 10, 2006, Hello! Project issued a press statement saying that the singer had been suspended "indefinitely"; speculation as of that date is that the punishment may be brief. However, Kago was under house arrest in her parent's home for an entire year. As of February 10, the forthcoming seventh single and third album releases by W, scheduled for March 8 and 15 respectively, as well as the promotional appearances for them, have been postponed indefinitely due to the scandal. 2007 In January 2007, Ai Kago returned to Tokyo and was working at the offices of Up-Front Works, the agency behind Hello! Project, while the company was making preparations for her, and presumably W's, return to the public eye. On March 26, 2007 following a newly publicized scandal involving Kago dating a thirty-seven-year-old man as well as smoking again, it was announced by Up-Front Agency that her contract had been cancelled. An English translation of the announcement: "To whom it may concern: Regarding our client Kago Ai and the article in the weekly magazine that went on sale on March 26th, the information in the article has been verified with Kago herself, to our regret. '' ''One year ago, when Kago was 17 and the smoking problem happened, we still considered her future in this company, and as punishment, she was imposed to house arrest in her parents' home. Seeing how she had progressed over that year, it was decided to start from scratch and start preparing for a comeback by bringing her to Tokyo and having her do clerical and other office duties, starting on January 23rd. Although this worked out well for two months, there was another incident and the comeback plan was abandoned. After consulting with the family, as she is a minor, it has been confirmed, and she has been released from her contract." Life After W With the termination of Kago's contract, Tsuji was left without a singing partner and W disbanded. On April 24, 2007, news about Tsuji's new unit was released. The unit, named Gyaruru, was supposed to be made up of Tsuji, Tokito Ami and Gal Sone and was under the TNX label. On May 8, 2007, multiple Japanese news sources announced that Tsuji was nine weeks pregnant, and engaged to actor Taiyō Sugiura (age 26), lead role of Ultraman Cosmos, whom she had been dating since Summer 2006, after the two were introduced to each other earlier in April. Their marriage was set for June 17, 2007 (her twentieth birthday). Tsuji stated at the press conference that she would return to the public eye "when things calm down" after childbirth. As an official statement from her agency has not yet been made, it is assumed that she will be allowed to return to show business after her leave. However her position within Gyaruru has since been filled by Abe Asami , sister of Abe Natsumi. Tsuji was the voice of the character Athena in the animation series Robby & Kerobby, and released a single as the character: "Koko ni Iruzee!", a cover version of the Morning Musume song by the same name. She has since relinquished the role to Niigaki Risa, due to her pregnancy. Upon marriage, she has changed her name to Nozomi Sugiura, but will continue to use "Nozomi Tsuji" as a stage name. On November 26, 2007, Tsuji gave birth to a girl named Noa Sugiura (杉浦希空) at 12:45 am, weighing 2.73 kg (6.0 lb; 0.430 st). Almost one year and a half passed before anything was heard from her as an artist. On June 19, 2008, Tsuji made an appearance at the Nakazawa Yuko Birthday Live 2008 event, handing a birthday cake to Nakazawa. On January 30, 2009, Tsuji opened an online blog called Non Peace (のんピース). She also performed at the Hello Pro Award '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyō Kinen Special~ concert on February 1, 2009, her first performance in one year and nine months. Upon her expulsion, Kago all but vanished from the public eye completely. It was later found that she had moved to America and was living in Los Angeles learning English, although this was misreported as New York for quite sometime. On April 6, 2008, it was reported by Yahoo! News that Kago was returning to the entertainment industry. Also, in an interview by OhmyNews, Kago admitted that she had begun smoking to feel more like an adult without realizing the impact it would have on her peers and young fans. She stated that she had actually not gone to New York, but rather to Los Angeles for three months in 2007 with her boyfriend. She said she took the trip because she felt like a criminal in Japan. While in LA she met many new people who encouraged her (including Winona Ryder) and was able to reflect on her situation and begin her new life. She also admitted to having considered suicide and having inflicted self-injury upon herself by cutting her wrists. At the end of the interview, Kago states that even though she is now 20 years old and can legally smoke cigarettes, she no longer does or has any desire to do so. On April 24, 2008, Ai Kago announced on her personal blog website, "Biscuit Club", that she will be appearing in Hong Kong movie Kung Fu Chef with Sammo Hung. On July 4th, 2008, in an interview with Akashiya Sanma, she stated that she had been in Kyoto filming for a movie about Princess Sen, followed by a joint Singapore/Hong Kong project. She also brought her new pet Toy Pomeranian, and Sanma helped her name it after the Dragonball character Chi Chi. Discography Singles Albums Releases DVDs External Links * W's profile on Hello! Project's official site (prior to disbandment)